Chapter 11 - Where the Stars SleepThe new owners of Daniel's old house thought he was insane.
He couldn't blame them.
“My daughter says her mother hid something in her old bedroom ceiling.”
The homeowner, a fifty-year-old pediatrician named Tom Harris, stared at him from the doorway.
Daniel had brought Detective Ruiz.
That helped.
Barely.
Tom finally let them inside.
The house had changed.
Different furniture.
Different paint.
Different smells.
But the memories hit Daniel immediately.
Megan barefoot in the kitchen.
Sophie learning to walk.
Arguments.
Laughter.
The last night Daniel slept there.
He nearly turned around.
Ruiz noticed.
“You okay?”
“No.”
They climbed the stairs.
Sophie's old room was now an office.
The ceiling still had glow-in-the-dark stars.
Daniel stared.
Megan had placed them there herself when Sophie was three.
Sophie used to insist every star had a name.
“Where exactly?” Ruiz asked.
Daniel called Sophie on video.
She studied the ceiling through the screen.
“The big one.”
Tom looked up.
“They're all small.”
Sophie shook her head.
“The one that isn't a star.”
Daniel frowned.
Then he saw it.
Near the closet was a small moon-shaped decoration.
He dragged a chair beneath it.
Ruiz stopped him.
“Let me.”
She put on gloves.
The plastic moon came away easily.
Behind it was a circular hole.
Ruiz reached inside.
Her hand emerged holding a flash drive wrapped in plastic.
Daniel stopped breathing.
Tom whispered:
“Jesus.”
Ruiz bagged it.
“We view this at the station.”
Daniel wanted to argue.
He didn't.
Two hours later, they sat in an interview room.
Ruiz inserted a forensic copy of the drive into an isolated laptop.
Folders appeared.
BANK RECORDS.
MESSAGES.
PHOTOS.
VIDEO.
Daniel's hands started shaking.
Ruiz clicked the video folder.
One file.
IF DANIEL EVER SEES THIS.
The screen went black.
Then Megan appeared.
Alive.
Daniel forgot how to breathe.
She was sitting in their old bedroom.
Her brown hair pulled back.
No makeup.
Tired eyes.
She looked directly into the camera.
“Daniel.”
His throat closed.
“If you're watching this, either I finally convinced you to listen…”
Megan paused.
“…or something happened before I could.”
Daniel covered his mouth.
Ruiz remained silent.
Megan continued.
“Vee is Vanessa Petrov. Vanessa Cole. Whatever name she's using now.”
Daniel felt a chill.
“She has been following our family for years.”
Megan looked down briefly.
“I should have told you sooner. I thought I could handle it.”
Her eyes filled.
“That was stupid.”
Daniel whispered:
“No.”
Megan continued.
“She has been stealing money from accounts tied to our old business. I found it last month. But that isn't why I'm scared.”
She held up printed screenshots.
“These messages are fake.”
Daniel recognized them.
The affair evidence.
“She is sending them to you.”
Megan's voice broke.
“And you're believing them.”
Daniel lowered his head.
Pain tore through him.
“I don't blame you completely,” Megan said. “They look real.”
Ruiz glanced at Daniel.
He couldn't look at her.
Megan took a breath.
“Marcus and I are not having an affair. We never have.”
Daniel's eyes burned.
“Vanessa wants us separated because she thinks you belong to her.”
Then Megan looked directly into the camera.
“But if you're watching this, Daniel, there's something worse you need to know.”
Ruiz leaned closer.
Megan swallowed.
“Vanessa has been inside our house while we're sleeping.”
Daniel felt the blood leave his face.
“I found a hidden camera in our bedroom.”
Ruiz paused the video.
“What?”
Daniel stared.
“Keep going.”
Megan appeared again.
“I removed it. I didn't tell her I found it.”
She held up a tiny black device.
“She has recordings.”
Daniel's stomach twisted.
“She has watched Sophie. She has watched me. She has watched you.”
Megan's hands trembled.
“I don't know what she'll do if she realizes I've collected evidence.”
The video cut briefly.
When it returned, Megan was crying.
“And Daniel…”
She looked toward the bedroom door.
“If I die, don't assume it was an accident.”
Daniel stopped breathing.
Ruiz froze.
Megan continued:
“She knows about my car.”
Daniel stood so fast the chair fell backward.
“What does that mean?”
Ruiz paused the video.
“What was wrong with Megan's car before the crash?”
“Nothing.”
“Think.”
Daniel's mind raced.
Tires.
Brakes.
Service.
Then he remembered.
Three days before Megan died, she had mentioned a warning light.
Daniel had ignored the message because they were fighting.
Ruiz restarted the video.
Megan's final sentence filled the room.
“She asked me yesterday whether I'd fixed the brake problem yet.”
The video ended.
Daniel stared at the black screen.
Detective Ruiz stood.
“Your wife's death is no longer just a family dispute.”
Daniel looked at her.
May you like
Ruiz's expression was grim.
“We're reopening the crash.”
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